Fair Trade Commission Begins On-Site Investigation of Google... Allegations of Monopoly Abuse in 'YouTube Music Bundling'

Investigation into Unfair Transfer of Market Dominance and Related Issues

The Fair Trade Commission has launched an investigation into whether Google Korea abused its monopoly (market dominant) position by tying the YouTube Music subscription product to the YouTube Premium subscription product.

According to industry sources on the 24th, the Fair Trade Commission conducted an on-site investigation at Google Korea's headquarters in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on the same day.

The Fair Trade Commission is reportedly examining whether Google unfairly transferred its market dominance to the music streaming market by bundling YouTube Music with the YouTube Premium product, which allows users to watch YouTube without ads.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The monthly subscription fee for YouTube Music Premium is 8,690 won, and the monthly subscription fee for YouTube Premium is 10,450 won. Subscribing to YouTube Premium allows users to access the YouTube Music service as well.

In its work plan for this year, the Fair Trade Commission announced that it would focus on inspecting abuses of monopoly power in app markets and the semiconductor sector to promote innovation unique to the digital market.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.